The Foresee Approach to Content-Based ESL Instruction
(The following notes are taken from a paper by Kidd, R & Marquardson, B, The Foresee Approach to Content-Based ESL Instruction, Mar '94, which they presented at an ESL conference. Some parts are exact quotes, and where this is the case, the page number is referenced.)
FORESEE: 4C: Communication, Cognitive Academic Language Development, and Content Instruction in the Classroom
CALLA: Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach
Kidd and Marquardson have based their Foresee Approach on Chamot and O'Malley's CALLA. It is an extension of CALLA.
The main changes ('innovations') are 'mainly on the level of practical application.' (p1)
Content-based ESL instruction has three components:
1. Language
2. Content
3. Learning Strategies
Kidd and Marquardson strongly agree with Chamot and O'Malley that 'integrated instruction should incorporate all three elements.' (p1)
CALLA and Foresee are both comprised of theory and application. In the Foresee approach, the three major components of content, language and learning strategies are mutually supportive.
Kidd and Marquardson put language and learning strategies as the base of their triangle, with the content at the apex, reasoning that 'they combine to provide a solid foundation for the learning of subject matter.' ... 'for example, good listening skills are obviously essential to efficient note taking, one of C&O's (1987) cognitive strategies.' (p3)
C&O (1987) propose 'around 18 strategies that are particularly useful for learning both language and content in academic contexts. They classify these various strategies into three categories, metacognitive, cognitive, and social-affective... Their scheme has been adopted - unchanged and intact - as the learning strategies component of the Foresee theoretical model.
a) Metacognitive strategies are strategies relating to the planning, monitoring, or evaluating of one's own learning. They come into play when students think about how to approach or attack a learning task, or when they consciously assess how successfully a learning task is proceeding or has proceeded.
b) Cognitive strategies are strategies which can be applied directly to the tasks of understanding and learning. These strategies may be mental (e.g., forming mental images to aid memorization) or physical (e.g., note-taking; using resource materials).
c) Social-Affective strategies are strategies through which the learner either enlists the support or assistance of other people (e.g., peers, teachers) or establishes emotional or attitudinal state of mind conducive to success.
...The mastery of learning strategies constitutes a major pathway to empowerment, a means through which students can develop into autonomous and independent learners. Like C&O (1987) we strongly recommend that they be explicitly taught and consciously practiced through the vehicle of content-area work. (p7)
The following is taken directly from Appendix A of the above-mentioned paper. It seems very interesting and relevant to our webquest, as it details the List of Learning Strategies in CALLA, and some notes about them and their relation to the Foresee Approach:
List of Learning Strategies
NOTE: Column 2 cites Chamot & O'Malley's (1987) descriptions of the learning strategies, word for word; column 3 contains explanations, comments, or notes relating to the frequent application of the strategies in intruction using this Foresee Approach. (My comment - I have included the list of social-affective strategies, as I feel these are very relevant to us both on this webquest, and in our teaching in general. I hope you find it all useful!!)
METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES Strategies relating to the planning, monitoring, or evaluating of one's own learning
Advance organization
Previewing the main ideas and concepts of the material to be learned, often by skimming for the organizing principle
A receptive strategy - looking at headings, subheadings, accompanying pictures or diagrams, etc., to get ideas about (and predict) the contents of a reading passage.
Organizational planning
Planning the parts, sequence, main ideas, or language functions to be expressed orally or in writing
A productive strategy - used when planning note-taking activities, procedures for answering questions, etc.
Selective attention
Deciding in advance to attend to specific aspects of input, often by scanning for key words, concepts, and/or linguistic markers
Receptive - listening (or reading) for key words and discourse markers that will assist in comprehending the material, taking notes, etc. May also assist in production (question-answering) when students identify and underline the most important words in written questions.
Self-monitoring
Checking one's comprehension during listening or reading, or checking the accuracy and/or approprietness of one's oral or written production while it is taking place
Receptive or productive - checking one's own understanding of the material while learning is going on, or checking the accuracy of one;s work as it is being done.
Self-evaluation
Judging how well one has accomplished a learning activity after it has been completed
Receptive or productive - similar to Self-monitoring, but performed after the completion of the task. Often a collaborative endeavor enlisting the support of peers or the teacher.
COGNITIVE STRATEGIES Strategies which can be applied directly to the tasks of understanding and learning.
Resourcing
Using target-language reference materials such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, or textbooks
Often accomplished by making use of resources such as library materials, newspapers, fliers, magazines, etc.
Grouping
Classifying words, terminology, or concepts according to their attributes
Increasing one's understanding of content material by grouping together sets of things having similar characteristics. When the groups are named as well, this process is better called Classifying.
Note-taking
Writing down key words and concepts in abbreviated verbal, graphic, or numerical form during a listening or reading activity
Often goes hand in hand with Organizational planning and Selective attention - e.g., writing a column of numbers and then listening for the answers to a predetermined series of questions.
Summarizing
Making a mental or written summary of information gained through listening or reading
Sometimes accompanies Grouping, since a summary may consist of information in a series of separate categories. Also, often follows Note-taking as an end result.
Deduction/ induction
Applying rules to understand or produce th second language, or making up rules based on language analysis
Actually two strategies in one. Used when wrestling with any problem of linguistic form (grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.) either by applying rules already learned (Deduction) or by formulating one's own rules on the basis of available linguistic evidence (Induction).
Imagery
Using visual images (either mental or physical) to understand and remember new information
Using pictures to increase understanding, or making diagrams (e.g., Venn diagrams), charts, or other graphic representations to make information easier to understand and remember. Often accompanies Grouping.
Auditory representation
Playing back in one's mind the sound of a word, phrase, or longer language sequence
May be teacher-initiated. Used particularly in Note-taking.
Elaboration
Relating new information to prior knowledge, relating different parts of new information to each other, or making meaningful personal associations to the new information
Basically, building upon one's previous knowledge of a subject. Often, learning more about a particular topic by Resourcing (doing research on particular subtopics). Also, may involve expanding one's linguistic expression on a topic or idea (words →sentences → paragraphs).
Transfer
Using previous linguistic knowledge or prior skills to assist comprehension or production
Making use of previously acquired linguistic knowledge or skill to assist in coping with a new and different learning task.
Inferencing
Using information in an oral or written text to guess meanings, predict outcomes, or complete missing parts
In the Foresee Approach, Predicting means guessing what will come next in a story or other reading passage. Inferencing means guessing at answers - to questions, when grouping or taking notes, etc.
SOCIAL-AFFECTIVE STRATEGIES Strategies through which the learner somehow enlists the support or assistance of other people (e.g., peers, teachers) or establishes an emotional or attitudinal state of mind conducive to success.
Questioning for clarification
Eliciting from a teacher or peer additional information, rephrasing, examples, or verification
Basically, the strategy of actively seeking help from others (peers or teacher).
Cooperation
Working together with peers to solve a problem, pool information, check a learning task, model a language activity, or get feedback from an oral presentation
Many applications. Often used with Self-evaluation. Usually teacher-initiated (pairs, small groups).
Self-talk
Reducing anxiety by using mental techniques that make one feel competent to do the learning task
Sometimes involves the mental (or even spoken) "rehearsal" of the steps that need to be performed to accomplish a particular task.
The Foresee Approach to Content-Based ESL Instruction
(The following notes are taken from a paper by Kidd, R & Marquardson, B, The Foresee Approach to Content-Based ESL Instruction, Mar '94, which they presented at an ESL conference. Some parts are exact quotes, and where this is the case, the page number is referenced.)FORESEE: 4C: Communication, Cognitive Academic Language Development, and Content Instruction in the Classroom
CALLA: Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach
Kidd and Marquardson have based their Foresee Approach on Chamot and O'Malley's CALLA. It is an extension of CALLA.
The main changes ('innovations') are 'mainly on the level of practical application.' (p1)
Content-based ESL instruction has three components:
1. Language
2. Content
3. Learning Strategies
Kidd and Marquardson strongly agree with Chamot and O'Malley that 'integrated instruction should incorporate all three elements.' (p1)
CALLA and Foresee are both comprised of theory and application. In the Foresee approach, the three major components of content, language and learning strategies are mutually supportive.
Kidd and Marquardson put language and learning strategies as the base of their triangle, with the content at the apex, reasoning that 'they combine to provide a solid foundation for the learning of subject matter.' ... 'for example, good listening skills are obviously essential to efficient note taking, one of C&O's (1987) cognitive strategies.' (p3)
C&O (1987) propose 'around 18 strategies that are particularly useful for learning both language and content in academic contexts. They classify these various strategies into three categories, metacognitive, cognitive, and social-affective... Their scheme has been adopted - unchanged and intact - as the learning strategies component of the Foresee theoretical model.
a) Metacognitive strategies are strategies relating to the planning, monitoring, or evaluating of one's own learning. They come into play when students think about how to approach or attack a learning task, or when they consciously assess how successfully a learning task is proceeding or has proceeded.
b) Cognitive strategies are strategies which can be applied directly to the tasks of understanding and learning. These strategies may be mental (e.g., forming mental images to aid memorization) or physical (e.g., note-taking; using resource materials).
c) Social-Affective strategies are strategies through which the learner either enlists the support or assistance of other people (e.g., peers, teachers) or establishes emotional or attitudinal state of mind conducive to success.
...The mastery of learning strategies constitutes a major pathway to empowerment, a means through which students can develop into autonomous and independent learners. Like C&O (1987) we strongly recommend that they be explicitly taught and consciously practiced through the vehicle of content-area work. (p7)
The following is taken directly from Appendix A of the above-mentioned paper. It seems very interesting and relevant to our webquest, as it details the List of Learning Strategies in CALLA, and some notes about them and their relation to the Foresee Approach:
List of Learning Strategies
NOTE: Column 2 cites Chamot & O'Malley's (1987) descriptions of the learning strategies, word for word; column 3 contains explanations, comments, or notes relating to the frequent application of the strategies in intruction using this Foresee Approach. (My comment - I have included the list of social-affective strategies, as I feel these are very relevant to us both on this webquest, and in our teaching in general. I hope you find it all useful!!)
METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES
Strategies relating to the planning, monitoring, or evaluating of one's own learning
Strategies which can be applied directly to the tasks of understanding and learning.
SOCIAL-AFFECTIVE STRATEGIES
Strategies through which the learner somehow enlists the support or assistance of other people (e.g., peers, teachers) or establishes an emotional or attitudinal state of mind conducive to success.
The full source book can be found at the following link: http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED363118&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED363118